Menu

It’s been 5 years since that tragically fateful night in Aurora, Colorado, when one man entered a sold-out movie theater armed with assortment of weapons and opened fire. In the […]

It’s been 5 years since that tragically fateful night in Aurora, Colorado, when one man entered a sold-out movie theater armed with assortment of weapons and opened fire. In the aftermath of this unimaginable attack, 70 people were left injured, and 12 were killed. It was the highest casualty count of any shooting attack in the United States at the time.

I remember waking up to read the news the following morning and being aghast at what I had found. The attack had really hit a nerve with me, and it turns out that even being a thousand miles away, it still hit close to home. The sister of a girl I grew up with in school had been one of the 12 victims. She was there on a date to see the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises.

It could have just as easily been me in that theater, or any one of us movie fans. After connecting so deeply with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, I had anxiously awaited years for this final chapter. This was our movie, and this was our moment to enjoy it, but this coward had taken that from us. I was left in a state of disbelief, sadness, and anger. I felt guilty to still want to see it. A shadow had been cast over the entire movie, and not even Batman could save us from what had happened.

I didn’t see the movie in theaters until probably a week or two later. I went to the movies to see it with my parents, and there was definitely a different feeling in the air. Still to this day I can’t help but look for the exits after sitting down for a movie. It still crosses my mind every single time. This senseless act of violence spelled a dark time for movie theaters.

Even 5 years later, as I’m getting ready to leave to see Christopher Nolan’s newest film, Dunkirk, I find myself wondering just how far have we’ve come. Our gun control laws still fail us. We’ve had even worse shootings in America since. It’s up to us to be aware and to take action to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.

The 5 year time lapse got coverage in the U.K. Media. And that’s probably a good thing. I have to say that what I read/listened to here was not up to your very personal words. As a Brit, I have to say that despite several visits I can’t get my head around the US gun laws.

I can’t understand it either. My own brother was shot at and nearly killed in our backyard when I was just a boy. So as you might imagine, I’m not particularly fond of guns (outside of movies anyway). I was actually reading a statistic earlier today that said America is home to 5% of the world’s population, and 50% of the world’s guns. Our obsession with guns and violence is just staggering to me. When will enough ever be enough? We’re a nation that lives in fear from the same danger we create and put out into the world, and yet we use that to justify our weapons. I just don’t get it. People take our right to bear arms way too far. It’s hard to see any progress when these acts of violence keep happening and only get more deadly. Thanks for the comment, Baggy. Perhaps one day I’ll join you in the UK and get further away from all of this.

Wow. I can’t believe its been five years since that tragedy struck. I remember going to the movies that night to go see The Dark Knight Rises (during the midnight showing) and hearing about the events at Aurora the next morning.

To be honest, I thought it had been longer since it all happened. I didn’t go to the midnight showing (in fact, I never have for a movie). It was a terrible thing that happened that night. The theater house had about 400 people seated in it. Considering he was armed with a shotgun, a semi-automatic weapon, and pistols, it’s a miracle only 12 people died.